“If a question is asked to Rahul Gandhi would you like to become the Prime Minister, why should he say no. If you ask me if I would like to become the PM probably I would also say yes, I also have a dream to become the PM,” he said.
“It does not have any political conclusions to be drawn or to be read between the lines”, he added. Earlier in the day, Gandhi on being asked if he will become the Prime Minister in 2019 if the Congress emerges as the single largest party after the 2019 general elections, he said, “Yes, why not”. The NCP leader said that Congress has also agreed to come on board without any pre conditions of projecting Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate.
He said, “As a matter of fact leaders like Mamata Banerjee, N Chandrababu Naidu and others were thinking of floating a group of political parties which are non BJP, non Congress. But it is Sharad Pawar’s endeavour that he said that no we cannot exclude Congress, let us take Congress also on board and Congress has agreed to come on board without any pre conditions of projecting Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate.”
He also said, “We have no candidate to be projected before election that he would be PM. We will see the mandate of the people and then decide the candidate.”
On a related note, the general elections are due to be held in April or May 2019 to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha.